GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 502721
Local Delivery option only allows selection of a directory
Last modified: 2008-06-02 12:05:30 UTC
Please describe the problem: Using "Local Delivery" to get mail from /var/spool/mail/<user> When "Send/Receive" clicked get dialogue with error message "Could not open mail file /var/spool/mail: Is a directory" Using edit preferences for the account the spool file is greyed out. The file open dialogue is only allowing selection of directories Steps to reproduce: 1. Click Send/Receive 2. 3. Actual results: Get error Expected results: Mail loaded Does this happen every time? Yes Other information: Using Gutsy Gibbon
this is definitely fixed in 2.12. please change the account type from "file" to "directory". *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 352346 ***
Andre Klapper said... this is definitely fixed in 2.12. please change the account type from "file" to "directory". Worik says: What does that mean? I edit preferences Edit my account Click receiving email options There are 5 local options. None work. So this is not fixed.
you currently use the server type "standard unix mbox spool file" and have entered /var/spool/mail. /var/spool/mail is a directory and not a file. you could also use "standard unix mbox spool directory" to point to a directory.
Andre says: "standard unix mbox spool directory" to point to a directory. Worik says: But that does not import the mail from the spool directory (is that another bug?).
that's not a bug ,that's the way it is meant to work
Ok. But trhe original bug remains, and it is not a duplicate of 352346 "When creating a Maildir account the file chooser button to select a location is configured to select files and not directories, so I can't select my /home/ross/Maildir directory and can never proceed to the next stage of the wizard." For my bug I have a spool directory where fetchmail puts my mail. It already exists. I have been using it for ages and ages with the "local delivery" option on evolution. Then it just stoped working. Now I am using evolution directly attached to my pop server. I want to go back to local delivery for all sorts of reasons. I can do any investigation you ask, but this is a bug, and at this point I see no reason to so it is a bug with anything other than evolutrion. I can read the spool file with mutt, from reads the headers, I can read it with less.... Only evolution cannot read it. cheers Worik
"When creating a Maildir account the file chooser button to select a location is configured to select files and not directories," definitely not, i just tried here with a Maildir account.
Andre: Worik is not trying to use Maildir as far as I understand, he's trying to use "Local Delivery" mbox. That said... he is correct. In Evolution 2.12.1 (which is what I'm using), I cannot select a file in the "Local Delivery" configuration. I'm only able to select directories.
Jeffrey: cannot select a file in the "Local Delivery" configuration. I'm only able to select directories. Worik: Then a directory is not what the local delivery is looking for. It needs a file.
correct, it needs the user to give it an actual mbox file (except that the user is unable to do so because the file/dir-selection widget is set to directory mode by accident)
(In reply to comment #10) > correct, it needs the user to give it an actual mbox file (except that the user > is unable to do so because the file/dir-selection widget is set to directory > mode by accident) > I can confirm that this was working until 2.12. I updated to 2.12 and the "local delivery" was working fine. Then I went into preferences and selected edit on that mail account. I didn't change anything, just clicked "OK" and then the error messages started , "Could not open mail file /var/spool/mail: Is a directory" ..I was going to see if I could edit where it is checking for the email, but I can't find the file where the email account info is stored.
(In reply to comment #11) > (In reply to comment #10) > > correct, it needs the user to give it an actual mbox file (except that the user > > is unable to do so because the file/dir-selection widget is set to directory > > mode by accident) > > > > I can confirm that this was working until 2.12. I updated to 2.12 and > the "local delivery" was working fine. Then I went into preferences and > selected edit on that mail account. I didn't change anything, just clicked > "OK" and then the error messages started , > > "Could not open mail file /var/spool/mail: Is a directory" > > ..I was going to see if I could edit where it is checking for the email, > but I can't find the file where the email account info is stored. > I used the gconf-editor to add the mbox name to the /var/spool/mail path and it works again.
This has been fixed in bug #500018, thus marking as a duplicate. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 500018 ***